#H2P... PITT IS IT! - A Pitt Panthers Dynasty (NCAA 14)

[moose141]

Crimson Tide Paint New Orleans Red, Knock Off Red Hot Houston in Sugar Bowl
Report by Matt Schmidlin | January 1, 2021



When came down to the last laugh, D'Eriq King had to be feeling hysterical.

King led Alabama to victory in Sugar Bowl over his former school, Houston, by the final score of 35-17 to clinch an appearance in the National Championship game in ten days' time.

After star HB Josh Jacobs left the contest early in the second quarter with a back injury, King took the game over for the Crimson Tide, tossing three touchdown passes in the second frame to lead Alabama to a 28-7 halftime advantage over the Cougars.

Houston battled back with 10 points straight after halftime, drawing within 11 points, but King marched Alabama right down the field for the final score of the contest, finding Phillip Smith for a 15 yard touchdown. The senior graduate transfer finished with 334 yards passing on the night, tossing 4 TDs without a single turnover while also adding 30 yards on the ground.

"D'Eriq is a great player," Alabama coach Nick Saban said. "That's why we were so lucky he decided to join our program in the offseason. He's a talented guy who knows what it takes to win."

The highlight of the contest came early in the second quarter with the game tied, as King found John Phillips streaking open over the middle on a deep corner route. Phillips caught the pass in stride, taking it 86 yards to the house to give the Crimson Tide a lead that they would never relinquish.

The touchdown was one of two in the quarter for Phillips, who led all Alabama receivers with 148 yards on six catches, with two resulting in touchdowns. Bryan Hand led the Crimson Tide on the ground with 109 yards on 23 carries following Jacobs's departure. Jacobs did rack up 57 yards and a score on just 6 carries before leaving in the second quarter. His status for the national championship is currently questionable, though he will have a longer than normal recovery time with the ten day gap leading to the title game on January 11.

"Everyone is day-to-day at this point," Saban said. "Josh still wanted to play even today, so we hope he can have that opportunity to suit up for us one more time. We'll see how things go."

Junior DT Quincy Bailey starred defensively for Alabama, bringing down Houston QB Bowman Sells on three separate occasions this evening. Sells passed for 306 yards and a pair of scores in the loss, finding his main target Courteney Lark for both of those touchdowns, part of his sensational 9 reception, 157 yard performance.

For Houston, the loss ends their season and drops them to 12-1 after winning the American conference championship. Alabama improves to a national best 14-0, remaining the only unbeaten, with playoff #2 seed Pitt waiting in the wings after defeating West Virginia in the Rose Bowl.

[joshuahuskers]

I’m late, but way to dominate the second half. Got that semifinal monkey off your back, now Bama in the title game...I can feel it, Pitt will get it done!


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[young22]

What a storyline that is, King taking down his former school in the CFP. Eagerly anticipating the natty, should be a great one

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[Tyro11]

Love the effort and the story you incorporated! D'Eriq King to Bama and then beating his former 'Cinderella'-type Houston team in the CFP. Almost like the bad guys won

[moose141]

Quote: Originally Posted by joshuahuskers

I’m late, but way to dominate the second half. Got that semifinal monkey off your back, now Bama in the title game...I can feel it, Pitt will get it done!

No worries! Yeah, it definitely is a relief to finally get over the semifinal hurdle, guess we just needed that extra motivation of the rivalry game to put us over the edge. Not to mention that we were honestly probably lucky with the way things shook out in the landscape this year. Texas (10-2), Washington (10-2), UCLA (10-3) were probably way more imposing as far as on field talent was concerned, they just couldn't put it together all season as so while WVU deserved their spot, no doubt about it, they were a matchup that was much more favorable to us than what it could have been.

Quote: Originally Posted by young22

What a storyline that is, King taking down his former school in the CFP. Eagerly anticipating the natty, should be a great one

Yeah, I couldn't even write up that storyline myself, it was unreal how it actually ended up working out this season. Alabama would've been starting a freshman QB who was 78 OVR or something otherwise, so King coming over just seemed to fit, and Houston didn't skip a beat without him. Should be fun to get to see him play in person against us!

Quote: Originally Posted by Tyro11

Love the effort and the story you incorporated! D'Eriq King to Bama and then beating his former 'Cinderella'-type Houston team in the CFP. Almost like the bad guys won

Thanks Tyro, I really appreciate it! I love getting to add in some grad transfers and things like that to the universe and really add that extra level of intrigue, like you said. This one ended up working out almost too perfectly, you couldn't even script it! Bama really needed just a QB as they're stacked basically at every position, so King was the icing on the cake for them.

What's even crazier is that Houston ended up going 12-1 and they had two different 90+ rating players transfer out to other schools this offseason! They were so loaded offensively that King left and they still plugged a 97+ OVR QB into the lineup, and they had their #4 (I think) WR transfer to TCU for more playing time. Offensively, Houston was a real juggernaut. I'll have to check their roster to see how much talent they are losing for next season, because they could be facing a real regression after this year.

[moose141]

#PantherNation News and Notes:
National Title Run Up
Report by Matt Schmidlin | January 8, 2021

Jacobs Expected to Start, Play Significant Time Despite Injury

Alabama senior HB Josh Jacobs has been a full participant at all practices here in Miami, and is not expected to be hampered by the back injury that held him out of the second half of the Crimson Tide's Sugar Bowl victory over Houston.

Senior Bryan Hand saw significant action in Jacobs's stead, tallying 109 yards, as did freshman Darieon Williams Jr., who also started a game earlier this year when both Jacobs and Hand missed due to injury.

On the season, Jacobs leads the Crimson Tide with 925 yards on the ground, though it has been a bit of a committee due to injuries through the year. Hand has added 876 yards rushing, while Williams Jr. is up to 380 yards in his first collegiate season. Senior QB D'Eriq King has rushed for 503 yards on the season as well.

Narduzzi Preaching that Panthers Focus on Themselves

With the biggest game of his coaching career looming, Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi is preaching focus for his Panthers ahead their national title matchup with Alabama.

"Everyone knows who Alabama is," Narduzzi said. "We know what kind of program they are. We know their pedigree. That's the kind of recognition we want our program to have. And the only way we can do that is by focusing on what we can control, and that's ourselves and our preparation. We know Alabama will be ready to play, and so we have to do the same."

The normally outspoken Narduzzi has been fairly cagey and reserved in the lead up to the national championship, making sure to not give the Crimson Tide any bulletin board material that master motivator Nick Saban can pounce on.

"If you're looking for a soundbite to drum things up, you're not gonna get it," Narduzzi said. "We're just focusing on Pitt football and being the best Pitt football team we can be in the biggest game of the season."

[Tyro11]

How do you decide Grad Transfers and where they go? Simulator or do you eyeball it? I might try it in my own dynasties

[joshuahuskers]

Quote: Originally Posted by Tyro11

How do you decide Grad Transfers and where they go? Simulator or do you eyeball it? I might try it in my own dynasties

I will let Moose answer with his methodology, but I have certain criteria for which players can transfer out and which schools they can transfer too. See my post here.

Beyond those criteria, I make it regionally based for the most part (ie. Fresno State QB goes to Washington, Texas QB to Texas State, Louisville to Va Tech, etc.). I also kind of look at what would be a good fit. Finally, I do this only for QBs, so it limits the amount of work I have to do.